karachi: Mayor Wasim Akhtar on Sunday asked the federal and Sindh governments to employ home-based female workers for the production of coronavirus precautionary kits so they could feed their families in the lockdown.
Talking to fashion designer Asim Jofa, the mayor said there was a need of accessories including bed sheets, masks and gloves at hospitals. “The government and other relevant departments should provide sewing work of these accessories to women at home through NGOs," he demanded.
According to a press statement issued by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), the mayor said there were a large number of women workers, particularly those who did sewing work, in industries, factories and at home, but they had been jobless in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These women,” he said, “are facing hardships in feeding their families. Through this venture we could provide a source of income to women as well cater to the need of precautionary kits at hospitals,” he advised.
During the meeting, Asim Jofa recommended that the services of those women could also be availed who had equipment for sewing and stitching at home. Akhtar endorsed his suggestion and said those women were facing hardships in the lockdown to feed their families.
The mayor demanded that the relevant departments should give the production work to women at home instead of giving it to big industries as this could resolve issues of the thousands of working women.
He also asked the people to cooperate with working women and give them opportunity to work at home by providing them sewing work.
"Being an underdeveloped country, we have to fight against coronavirus as well as against poverty and joblessness simultaneously," said Akhtar. “Pakistan has a large number of vocational people and they could be given an opportunity to work from home by the government.”
He said doctors and paramedics were performing their duties despite all dangers and this venture of the relevant departments could also help them fight with the virus. Akhtar said it was a time of testing for the nation as currently not only Pakistan but the entire world was facing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Mayor hailed the welfare organisations for providing ration to the people. However, he requested them to provide rations to the needy at their doorsteps instead of distributing them at roadsides. "The welfare organisations should also compile records of those who have been provided ration to ensure that more needy families get the ration," he added.
He was of the view that there were over 550 katchi abadies in the city and thousands of people living there could not ask someone for ration because of their self-respect. “But we have to give them essential commodities.”
A day earlier, Jofa had presented its first consignment of full-body protective suits along with other material to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). “We have handed around 100 full-body protective suits over to Dr Seemin Jamali for doctors and paramedics of the JPMC. These suits are water-proof and can be reused by disinfecting them. But we would provide more suits to the JPMC so that doctors and paramedics would not have to wear them twice," he said after handing over the PPE.